Process of treating juice and product



. S, MERRELL.

PROCESS OF TREATING JUICE AND PRODUCT.

APPUCATION FILED SEPT. 1919.

l,398,080. Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

I (ll/l///// VENTO R..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IRVING S. MEBBELL, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO MERRELL-SOULECOMPANY, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PROCESS OF TREATING J' UICE AND PRODUCT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Pateited Nov. 22, 1921.

Application filed September 11, 1919. Serial No. 323,207.

To aZZ whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, IRVING S. MERRELL, of Syracuse, in the County ofOnondaga, in the State of New York, have nvented new and usefulImprovements in Processes of Treating Juice and Product, of which thefollowing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is afull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in process for dryingjuices and the product resulting therefrom.

Experiment has demonstrated the fact that it is practically impossibleto dry or desiccate fruit juice by atomizing the same into a current ofheated air. The product resulting from such treatment is of a gummynature quite different from a dry powdered product.

I have, however, discovered that juices,

such as the juice of the citrus fruits, pine apples, grapes, loganberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc., may be reduced to asubstantially dry powder consisting of spherical particles which uponreconstitution with water produce a liquid solution of pleasing tastesubstantially like the original juice. This result may be efiected byfirst combining the juice With a drying promoter comprising orconsisting of starch and then atomzing the solution into a current ofheated air as described in Stauf Patent No. 6.66,7 ll and in Bevenot andDe Neveu Patent, 1,020,632 for the desiccation of milk. This process andproduct I claim as my invention.

The juice of the fruit as oranges or lemons, etc., may be obtained inany suitable way as by compressing or squeezing the fruit and the juiceis then thoroughly mixed with a suitable quantity of starch. Thesolution so produced is atomized as by forcing the same under pressurethrough a suitable spray nozzle as that shown in my Patent No.l,183,393. The solution so atomized is introduced in nely divided forminto a current of heated or moisture absorbing air. The liquidconstituents are instantaneously and practically completely vaporizedand the solids are collected in substantially dry powdered form.Particles of the powder are very small and of spherical shape and bythat definition I include spheres and fragments of spheres.

In practice I have found that ten pounds of starch and one hundredpounds of juice thoroughly mixed form a suitable solution for mypurpose. Upon reconstitution of the powder by the addition of Water, theresultant liquid olution has a somewhat starchy taste, not materiallyinjurious for many purposes. I the accompanying drawngs I have diagr medan apparatus suitable for carrying ut my process, the figureillustrating-a vertical section of such an apparatus.-

The juice to be dried is first mixed With a suitable quantity of starchand is then forced under pressure through pipe 3- and nozzle 41- bymeans of which the solution is divided into infinitely small particlesand is injected into the desiccating chamber -l-- in the form of a finespray or mist. The spray so introduced is subjected to the vaporizingaction of a current of heated or moisture absorbing air and as shownthis air may, perhaps, preferably envelop and surround the spray. Thecurrent of air preferably heated in any suitable manner is introducedunder pressure through a wind trunk -5- communicating With concentrcchambers -6- and 7- through which the air escapes into the desiccatingchamber 1- in a manner preferably to surround and; envelop the spray'.The liquid constituents of the solution are practically instantaneouslyvaporized and a portion of the powder gravitates to the bottom of thedesiccating chamber, the remaining portions passing with the air andvapor into any suitable dust collector, as the apparatus -2- by means ofwhich the'remaining portions of the powder are separated from the airand vapor and the air and vapor escape from the collector or may bedrawn therefrom by a suitable fan or pump --8-. The resultant product isa substantially dry fine powder consisting of sphericall particles,either complete sphercs or fragments thereof.

The apparatus shown is merely illustrative of one adapted for my purposeand it will be understood that I have described a specific method ofdesiccation of the solution of fruit juice and starch as illustrative ofa perhaps preferred method of carrying out this step of the process inthe production of a substantially dry powder comprising sphericalparticles and that various changes and modifications may be madein theprocess and many different apparatuses substituted for that disclosedWithout departing from my inventon as set forth in the appended clams.

What I claim is:-- j

1. A substantially dry powdered product in the form of sphericalparticles and comprising fruit material combined With starch.

2. A substantially dry powdered product in the form of sphericalparticles comprsing the solide of fruit juice combined with a dryingpromoter including starch.

3. The process of drying fruit juice comprising combining fruit juicewith starch, atomizng' the solution so formed into a current of moistureabsorbing air and separating the resultant substantially dry productfrom the air and vapor.

4. The process of drying fruit juice comprisng combining the juice Witha drying promoter including starch, spraying the solution so formed intoa current of mosture absorbing air and separating the resultantsubstantially dry product from the air and vapor. r

In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of August,1919.

` IRVING S. MERRELL.

Witnesses:

N. Roo'r, HOWARD P. DENISON.

